Music that expresses a high concept of Deity in beauty and harmony is a healing factor in Christian Science church services. It is wise, then, for those who would aid in the healing activity of music, whether as a composer, an organist, or a soloist, to consider what Mrs. Eddy thought and wrote on the subject of music.

Mrs. Eddy considered that music and its proper performance have a place in Christian Science church services. Because our Leader appreciated fine music, she wanted branch churches to provide the very best sacred music for their services. This is evidenced by the By-Law in her Manual of The Mother Church (Art. XIX, Sect. 1), "The music in The Mother Church shall not be operatic, but of an appropriate religious character and of a recognized standard of musical excellence; it shall be played in a dignified and suitable manner." Musicians in our churches should make the effort to become acquainted with the musical literature of the highest standard written by the best contemporary and classical composers for use in church services. They should never be satisfied with cheap or sentimental compositions.

Throughout Mrs. Eddy's writings can be found many enlightening statements on music worthy of one's attention and study. For example, our Leader says in her Message to The Mother Church for 1900 (p. 11): "I want not only quality, quantity, and variation in tone, but the unction of Love. Music is divine. Mind, not matter, makes music; and if the divine tone be lacking, the human tone has no melody for me."

In order to produce that excellence and "divine tone" that Mrs. Eddy considered necessary in music and in the performance of it, the composer and the musicians must let their lives and thoughts be governed by Soul, God. As they become conscious of God and of man's relationship to Him as His reflection, they will be able to express "the divine tone" in their musical endeavors.

Church music composed as a result of prayer and performed at the services with sincerity and unselfed love brings an abundance of spiritual good and blessings into the experience not only of the composer, the organist, or the soloist but of the church congregation as well.

Christian Science teaches that God is the only cause and creator, the divine Principle, Love, He is the Mind or Soul of the spiritual universe and man, and being infinite, He is unlimited in qualities and ideas, which include love, beauty, inspiration, creative ability, grace, and poise, as well as all true harmony and rhythm. Man, God's spiritual image and likeness, reflects and expresses His qualities in unlimited diversification.

Acquaintance with these spiritual facts of being, and the daily identification of oneself with them, enable the individual to understand and demonstrate his real, perfect selfhood, revealed by the Christ, the true idea of son-ship. Proportionately as the individual musician conforms his thinking to the divine Mind, Love, his human expression and performance of music radiate the divine perfection.

The composer who turns his thought in prayer to God for creative ideas will find these needed ideas flowing into his consciousness. His musical compositions, their melodies and harmonies, will be rich in beauty, originality, and freshness as the result of seeking the divine guidance. "The divine tone" will not be lacking as he realizes that Mind is expressing itself through him.

The church musician who utilizes the spiritual understanding of God and man that may be gained from a study of Science will reflect genuine poise and dignity at the church services. Freedom of action will be expressed in a musician's performance. The desire to project a false sense of self will fall before humility and unselfed love. Self-consciousness, fear of failure, or tension will be eliminated as he applies spiritual truths and realizes that it is the all-loving and all-harmonious Mind, not matter, or a false concept of mortal mind, which governs and controls man.

Permitting the divine Mind to guide them, the organist and the soloist will be able to select proper music for the church service. The prelude, offertory, solo, and postlude will be carefully chosen as the result of prayerful metaphysical work. The spiritual message conveyed by the solo, thoughtfully delivered by one who is God-governed, does much to uplift human thought to relinquish its fears and worries and to realize to some degree the ever-present perfection of God and man.

In the Scriptures we find that music has often played an important part in the lives of people in Biblical times. They expressed their gratitude and praise to God by singing or by playing musical instruments. The power of music to lift thought to God and to restore faith and calm trust in Him, to heal diseases and to set captives free, is recorded in the Bible.

In the sixteenth chapter of I Samuel, we read that David played upon the harp and that an "evil spirit" departed from King Saul. It is also recorded in the sixteenth chapter of Acts that when Paul and Silas were imprisoned in jail, they prayed at midnight "and sang praises unto God"; and then they gained their freedom and release. These men must have known that it was the Christ, Truth, expressed in music and song that had inspired them and lifted them to such great physical victories.

If the music of our times is to accomplish a healing purpose, it must reflect "the divine tone" of Truth and Love. So when the composer, the musician, and the soloist have truly done their part in expressing "the divine tone" in music and in their work, even the individual in the congregation who is least musically-minded will feel the influence of Love and be touched by it.

May the musicians who give of their talents endeavor to reflect more and more of the Christlike qualities and fill their thoughts and lives with Truth and Love, with unselfishness and true service. May they be God-guided and God-directed in bringing "the divine tone"— "the unction of Love"—into their church music and performances. Then and only then will the music in Christian Science church services provide quietness and harmony and bring healing to the members of the congregation.